'Seek Knowledge Even as Far as China'

A tiled panel welcomes visitors to the Oriental Museum at Durham University. It reads "Seek Knowledge Even as Far as China," a saying commonly attributed to the Prophet Muhammad, in two different scripts of Arabic, Thuluth and Kufic. The phrase represents an ideal motto for the museum, which showcases collections from across Asia and North Africa. 

The quote is found in the Hadith, a collection of phrases and anecdotes related to Muhammad's life, separate from the Quran (which is considered to be the word of Allah, written down by the Prophet). It exemplifies the quest for knowledge of certain schools of Islam, perhaps best represented during the Islamic Golden Age.

The tile piece was commissioned in 1996 and created by craftspeople in Isfahan, Iran, with funding from the Altajir World of Islam Trust. Named after its founder Mohamed Mahdi Al Tajir, the Al Tajir Trust funds several projects that showcase Islamic culture and arts across Europe, such as the 1976 World of Islam Festival in London. The panel is dedicated to the memory of Sir John Richmond, a lecturer in Middle Eastern history at Durham University from the mid-1960s, and his wife Lady Diana.

The Oriental Museum itself originates with Durham University's former School of Oriental Studies, which was established in 1951. The university was known for its teaching of "oriental languages" from its founding in 1832. The years after World War II just made it clear how important these language studies had become in the modern world. Additionally, languages were not seen as being enough, so the discipline expanded to include cultural education, often supported by original objects and documentation.

The institution opened in 1960, originally called the Gulbenkian Museum of Oriental Art and Archaeology. As the museum moved away from being oriented mainly to students and academic staff, the name was shortened to the Oriental Museum. The current museum building dates to 2000, and its well-displayed motto can be found in the foyer, connecting the Muslim world with East Asia and beyond.